happy happy joy joy

the kingdom

Since we went to Enchanted Kingdom first thing in the morning, during the first weekday that they're open, we had the park pretty much to ourselves. This is great because we didn't have to line up for anything, had our choice of attractions to experience and there were no obnoxious crowds that you wanted to condemn to various circles of Dante's Inferno (the odd downside being the lack of competition and anticipation vis-a-vis crowd/line strategies, which I realize is part of my park experience).

So we did everything we could before the time we set to depart (because of the AR5 finals) - Anchors Aweight, Space Shuttle, Paintball, Kart Racing, Jungle Log Jam, Flying Fiesta, everything, plus the cheapest lunch ever (on purchasing entrance tickets for our group, management offered us this promo: for every group of four, just add P100 and you get a really big lunch - whole chicken, pork barbeque, sidings, rice, drinks and dessert; which boils down to a hefty lunch for P25 per person, unheard of in amusement parks).

We capped the day with the Rio Grande ride, which result in all of us getting wet (my pants were drenched and I had to borrow a t-shirt). It was a lot of fun, a respite from the horror of work, and gave us all a nice recharge of energy before diving back to the projects that need to be finished.

Of course, during the outing I still got a couple of phone calls from clients, but that's how things are.

amazing race

Back home, Nikki and I thrilled to the finale of the Amazing Race 5, and I was delighted when Chip and Kim won. Good for them. While Colin was indeed a very capable competitor, I just didn't like him for various reasons (despite the fact that I saw a lot of myself in him). And it seems AR6 is just around the corner - yay!

And if you're in the country and feel the urge to do run around, do tasks and be stressed, join The Amazing Racer Experience (TARE), the new adventure tour product of the Department of Tourism, which opens to the public on September 25, 2004.

In cooperation with the Street Park Production, TARE had its pilot test last August where teams went on a two-day, one-night adventure to top-secret destinations, finding clues and performing challenges before moving on to the next destination.

The one-day TARE comes with the recent success of the overnight version won by a team of celebrity comedians during its pilot across different points in Luzon.

Registration is now open, so, if you're interested, contact these guys: Street Park Productions, Inc. at Tel No. (011 632) 436-8882, Fax No. (011 632) 436-8883 or E-mail info@streetparkprod.com or visit their website (how's that for a plug?).

And now, back to work - the TVC for Ragnarok needs stuff ;)